TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University field hockey team will face Delaware in a CAA conference play showdown this Friday, Oct. 14 at 3 p.m.
E.A. Jackson's squad will also host Drexel on Sunday (Oct. 16) at 1 p.m. for Senior Day at the TU Field Hockey Complex.
Both games will be streamed on FloSports. Live stats for both games will be available on TowsonTigers.com.
The Tigers (4-8) are set to play games four and five of a five-game homestand this weekend. Following Sunday's game, the Tigers will hit the road for their final four contests of the regular season.
Delaware has four wins in 13 games played this season. Their best win came against then-ranked #20 William & Mary, winning 3-2 last Friday.
Drexel is 8-5 on the season, also recording a win against then-ranked #20 William & Mary on Sunday 1-0.
LIFE'S A BEACH
Georgia Beachley recorded her fifth goal and fifth assist on Sunday and leads the team with 15 points this season, good for fourth in the CAA. She now ranks in the top 10 in program history in all three major offensive categories: goals, assists and points.
With 19 career goals, she now stands 9
th all-time in Towson program history. She is tied with Joann Engestrom (1998-00), and trails only Christina Boarman (46), Julie Lambi (44), Ashley Bacon (27), Kajee Murangi (27), Lisa McCullen (26), Katie DeFilippo (25), Lauren Volk (21) and Kristie Blumer (21).
Her 50 career points is good enough for seventh all-time, trailing only Christina Boarman (128), Julie Lambi (111), Ashley Bacon (72), Kajee Murangi (63), Katie DeFilippo (61) and Lisa McCullen (60).
Beachley also cracked the top 10 in assists, currently standing at 10
th all-time with 12 for her career. She is tied with Amy Shaw (1994-97) and Emily Swartz (2002-05), and trails only Christina Boarman (36), Julie Lambi (23), Kelsi Fortier (23), Carolina Avila (21), Stephanie Kisic (20), Ashley Bacon (18), Andrea Schlezes (18), Laura Kilmon (16) and Laura Schnell (16).
VETERAN LEADERSHIP
The 2022 team features six seniors who have been fixtures in the lineup since arriving on campus in September 2019. After twelve games this season, the six have combined to start 230 games.
Beachley and
Hannah McKeon have each started 53 games,
Mackenzie Tillman has started 36 games and
Samantha Aljets has started 35 contests.
Gianna Antone (27 starts) and
Hannah King (26 starts) have also seen significant playing time.
C. MILTON WRIGHT CONNECTION
Three of Towson's top players hail from nearby C. Milton Wright High School in Bel Air. Beachley and Aljets as well as junior
Annie Keele played for the Mustangs. In 2017 and 2018, C.M. Wright went 38-3 capturing the 2018 Maryland 3A State Championship and were runners-up in 2017. In Keele's senior season (2019), the team advanced to the regional championship. Former Towson field hockey player Katie Mattingly coaches C. Milton Wright.
Beachley, last year's leading scorer, and Aljets, the top point producer on the 2019 and spring 2021 teams, have been teammates since elementary school and have player together for more than a decade, including eight years with the H2O club program.
SMALL WORLD
Greg Hatfield, the father of forward
Sarah Hatfield, coached Towson University football player D'Ago Hunter at Eastern View High School in Culpepper, Virginia. Under Hatfield's tutelage, Hunter was a two-time All-State kick returner. Hatfield went 109-36 in 13 years at Eastern View before moving to Battlefield High School, where he is now in his third season as head coach.
INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR
Two of Towson's seven freshmen are from the Netherlands: midfielder
Hedwig Veldhuizen and goalkeeper
Tessa Scheenstra, bringing the total over international players to three. Sophomore
Cate Cook is a native of South Africa.
The 23-person roster features players from six states: Maryland (10), Pennsylvania (3), Virginia (3), Delaware (2), New Jersey (1) and Kentucky (1).
THE MILLER SISTERS…NOT
Although
Lydia Miller and
Paige Miller are both from Mount Joy, Pennsylvania and attended Donegal High School, the two are not related.
Lydia Miller's grandfather, Bob Robertson played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball. In 1971, he hit 26 home runs and helped the Pittsburgh Pirates win the World Series.
